Maori philosophies and the social value of community sports clubs: A case study from kapa haka

Community sports clubs have been identified as potential sites for the creation of social capital and cohesion but a range of studies note the difficulty in articulating how these concepts operate in the sports club context, particularly as bonding is often achieved through processes of social exclusion by majority groups. By contrast, Maori philosophies and guiding principles, such as manaakitanga and whanaungatanga - which are constructed and strengthened through whakawhanaungatanga - strongly contrast with western philosophies through their more explicit focus on collectivity, an ethic of care and bonding. In this article, which adopts a kaupapa Maori approach through a case study of one kapa haka club, we argue that Maori philosophies and principles have much to offer community sports clubs. Specifically, we note how the club practices created a sense of inclusiveness, where the very young, elderly, other iwi and Pakeha were all welcomed. The explicit emphasis on inclusiveness is significant in the light of the social capital research which found that sports clubs produce bonding capital through excluding minority groups.